The specific focus of the Conference “The Posthuman: Differences, Embodiments, and Performativity” will be the posthuman, in its genealogies, as well as its theoretical, artistic and materialistic differences and possibilities. In order to guarantee a systematic treatment of the topic, we will particularly focus on the following themes:

1 What is the posthuman? Have humans always been posthuman? If so, in which sense? Is the posthuman a further evolutionary development of the human being? What are the implications of gender, sex and race, among other differential categories, for the embodied constitution of the posthuman? Do posthumans already exist? What is the difference between the posthuman, the transhuman, the antihuman and the cyborg?

2 Philosophical issues concerning the genealogies of the posthuman: Which traditions of thoughts are significant to the posthuman theoretical attempt to postulate a post-dualistic and post-essentialist standpoint? What are the differences between the genealogies of the posthuman and of the transhuman? What points do they hold in common? Is the posthuman a Western-centric notion? Could non-dualistic practices such as shamanism be accounted as posthuman?

3 Bioarts, Body Art, Performance Art and the Posthuman: Which kind of art can be seen as leading towards the posthuman? Is the notion of the posthuman traceable in artistic traditions which precede the coining of the term “posthuman”? Can the posthuman be detected in cultures which have not been canonized by Western aesthetics?

4 Ethics, Bioethics, and the Moral Status of the Posthuman: Does the posthuman lead to a new, non-universalist, non-dualist understanding of ethics? Will posthumans have the moral status of a post-person, or will it be possible for them to have human dignity and personhood? Are human rights necessarily humanistic, or can they be re-enacted within a posthuman frame?

5 Emerging Technologies and the Posthuman: Which technologies represent the most significant challenge concerning the concept of the human/posthuman? Are restrictive national regulations concerning emerging technologies helpful in a globalized world? Do mind-uploading, plastic surgery, and cyborgian practices dissolve the border between human beings and machines? Human enhancement is already happening: should morphological freedom be regulated by social norms, or should it stand on individual choices?

6 Materialism and Posthuman Existence: The notion of matter as an active agent has been reinforced through Quantum Physics, on a scientific level, as well as by New Materialisms and Speculative Realism, on a philosophical level. Is the posthuman grounded in a materialist understanding of existence? What are the ontological, as well as the existential implications of the relationality of matter? Can it be related to a Posthuman Agency? What would a Posthuman Existentialism imply?

7. Posthuman Education: The notion of education in a posthumanist world; the transformation of the roles of teachers and learners in a posthuman social environment; what is the concept of a post- and transhumanist school? Which learning activities are central in a posthumanist educational system? Epistemological considerations about knowledge construction in the posthumanist era need to be considered further.

Papers will be selected and arranged according to related topics. Equal voice will be given, if possible, to presentations from the arts, humanities, sciences, and technological fields.

Files should be named and submitted in the following manner:
Submission: First Name Last name.docx (or .doc) / .pdf
Example: “Submission: MaryAndy.docx”

Abstracts should be received by May 15th 2013.
Acceptance notifications will be sent out by June 15th.

*Presentations should be no longer than 20 minutes. Each presentation will be given 10 additional minutes for questions and discussions with the audience, for a total of 30 minutes.

BEYOND HUMANISM

The University of Roma 3, the University Erlangen-Nürnberg,
the University of the Aegean and Dublin City University
are pleased to announce that this is the 5th Conference of the Beyond Humanism Conference Serieshttp://beyondhumanism.eu/

cfp categories:

gender_studies_and_sexuality

humanities_computing_and_the_internet

science_and_culture

By web submission at 03/15/2013 - 06:53

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